🔗 Share this article

You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.

But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.

These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.

Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.